Sabre tradition

Qing Dynasty was the last feudal dynasty established by Manchu people. We all know that Manchu people are nomadic people. They can enter the Central Plains by cavalry. The decline of strength in the late Qing Dynasty was largely due to the lack of fighting capacity of the Eight Banners cavalry in the Qing Dynasty. However, there was a very special situation in Qing dynasty, that is, the knives at the waist of Qing guards were worn backwards.

Why on earth is this? In fact, this situation did not exist throughout the Qing Dynasty. Before the early years of Qianlong, the guards of the Qing Dynasty wore swords with the handle in front and the blade in the back. However, in the middle and late Qianlong period, this situation changed, but it should also be divided according to the situation of arms. At that time, someone did wear a sword backwards.

However, all the arms of these people are cavalry, and the reason why cavalry take turns to wear swords is because predecessors have summed up a lot of combat experience. We can imagine that if the cavalry wears a sword at the waist in front and needs to lift it when pulling it out, it is likely to hurt the horse. Not only that, the cavalry will easily fall out of the scabbard and the hilt will face forward on the way.

But if you wear it backwards, the effect will be different. Most cavalry wear it on the left side of the waist, and in turn wear a waist knife, which will be placed on the back of the horse. When you want to draw a sword, you can reach back without hurting the horse. This kind of sabre method can greatly improve the combat capability of cavalry, so this strange sabre method is available.

However, this is limited to cavalry. Usually, infantry and guards will still use the normal saber method. In addition, this sword method has another meaning. Some people said that the strength of the Eight Banners had been greatly weakened at that time, and Qianlong was very worried when he saw this situation, so he had this way of wearing a sword. This sabre is to remind the Eight Banners cavalry that the world in the Qing Dynasty was shot down by cavalry.

The tradition of martial arts cannot be lost. Even in peacetime, we must constantly improve our combat methods. I have to say that Gan Long's idea is very good. Unfortunately, after the Eight Banners entered the customs, the treatment was too good, and the title and position could be hereditary. Later, the children of the Eight Banners were simply a group of gluttons. They took turns holding knives, just to cater to the meaning of Qianlong, and did not deeply understand the reasons for doing so.

There is also a saying that during the Qianlong period, the world was at peace, and sabre was more of a ceremony. It is difficult to pull out a knife with a backward handle to express one's desire for peace. So this kind of sword is also called Taiping Waist Sword, which is why they take turns to wear swords.